What music is best for life in a tiny box?

I'm in a similar situation, but only for 5 months. I purchased a Cambridge Audio DACmagic from Audio Advisor, and paired it up with my 90's vintage Headroom Supreme amp and pair of Sennheiser HD600s. I've been very pleased with the audio quality of digital music played from my MacBook (but if you are new to hard-drive based audio, make sure you import music at a respectable bit-rate).

The new DAC has made a huge difference in listening to music from the computer...I found myself listening for hours, with no fatigue.

I also purchased a pair of Audio Engine model 2 self-powered speakers, for casual listening when I don't want to be tied to headphones. Just got them yesterday; very impressed with build quality, and they are nice and compact. Initial impression is very favorable, but I'll need to break them in to make an accurate assessment. But if you are in the market for an inexpensive ($200) compact speaker, check 'em out. The model 5s mentioned in Arni's post also get rave reviews, but they may take up a little too much desk-top real estate for ship-board living.

Good luck on your tour in Japan.

WOW! Thank you for all the great responses!

@Rdavwhitaker I have been eyeing the creek for a long time and have heard good things about the Sennheisers. I have also heard great things about the Grados, and they are a third the price.

@Roscoeiii All good questions. I am a solid-state guy (I have nothing against tubes..just never had the money to check it out...maybe now?) There will most likely be a computer involved. I have a great (good-enough) sounding 2-ch Adcom for an amp. Good question about noise. My previous sea tour I was on a submarine. Noise was definitely an issue. I would imagine while we are steaming, noise will be an issue as well. (they don't build them for comfort!)

@Elizabeth Agreed, but I am unsure about the usability of speakers, esp if i have a roommate. Also, the DAC or player must support FLAC. I have very little in MP3.

@Arni Interesting. I have never heard of CEntrance, but looks good. I do want an analog in for my headphone amp in case I take my PSX for a transport.

@Jdoris Agree completely. Thanks for your support.

@Rsuminsby Cool. Yeah, I need to see my living arrangements before I can settle on speakers. I like Cambridge (bang for buck) so I will look into that as well.

My problem with USB DACs (not that I have used them) is jitter. Plus, as a Linux user, driver support is also of concern. Something designed from the ground up to play digital music is kinda what I am looking for.

Thank you to all for your great comments! Would love to hear from more of you.

Wavelength Proton or Burson DAC/head phone amps with a laptop housing your music files.

Just a few further thoughts, partly with an eye to minimizing clutter is a small space:

I take it you'll be taking a laptop aboard? Then make that your transport, with as much memory (8MB?) as is feasible (a dedicated machine is better, but in your circumstances, multitasking makes best sense). If you have the machine, so far you've spent nothing, except perhaps for the memory, if you're short.

For file storage, an eternal Raid like this one (I use the non raid version) 1TB for 260 bucks at the Zon:

http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Quadra-2-Disk-Drive-301352U/dp/B001KFH6HY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314461863&sr=8-1

Might be a "portable" unit out there, but saving the original packaging cheaper ;)

Now, an outboard DAC, headphone amp. I don't have experience here, but maybe a one box solution like the Music Hall 25.3 (successor to the well reviewed 25.2), which the estimable Walter of Underwood HiFi handles: 600 MSRP. http://www.musichallaudio.com/detail.php?p=68

Now you've got DAC/Amp/Storage for less than 900, and server as well, if you've got the laptop. Leaves 1100 or so, which I bet buys some nice headphones. Might even be something left over for a decent wire from laptop to DAC (stock wire from drive to laptop fine), or an iPod type device if you need that too. If you need to buy a laptop, you've got some wiggle room.

The Music Hall isn't tiny (w8.5 x d13.5 x h3.75 in.
10 lbs. pkg), but still a low clutter set up for a small space, and I bet something along these lines gives nice sound.

Best of Luck, and let us know what you do!

John

I'm no expert on dedicated DACs...the DACMagic is my first....but Cambridge Audio claims that jitter reduction is one of it's advantages. And that might explain the big improvement I hear.

What ship? It's gotta be more spacious than a sub!